What type of ground beef/turkey do you usually purchase? Lean, chuck, regular...? I get regular if are budget is tight...I then just drain it very well and rinse it with water. Otherwise, I get 80/20.

What about chicken? Boneless breasts, thighs, whole fryer chickens, leg quarters...? I usually switch b/w thighs and whole chickens. I usually see whole chickens for 0.79/lb at walmart and costco. If I drive an extra 30 min, I can get it at aldi's for 0.39/lb. DH likes a change sometimes, so we get breasts if they are on sale.

How often do you buy pork and beef roasts? Do you find these on sale often? I honestly don't know what a good price is for these, so I usually only buy them for company or whatever. For instance, I will buy ribeye pork roasts (one of the cheapest cuts I have found) and use it to make shredded BBQ pork sandwiches.

Since meat takes up a big chunk of our grocery budget, I'm just curious to see what others buy. I was so impressed by the responses on grocery challenge thread. We usually spend about $70-75/week (I go every other week ~$150 or a little less) on groceries/household products. I feel like I shop very carefully (most people around here look at me strangely when they hear how little we spend), but you all blow us out of the water!!

It depends on what I am going to use it for, as well as if it is on sale. For burgers, we use 85% ground beef, because it makes the juiciest burgers. For things like chili or spagetti sauce, I will use the 95/5 or 93/7 ground beef. Or if I am making meatloaf or meatballs.

We just started buying ground chicken, which I cook, then stirfry with a sauce that I make up and serve it on rice noodles. Tastes Asian and is really cheap. We used to buy just the boneless, skinless chicken breasts, but we found out that we really like the thighs. I've also started buy whole fryer chickens and roasting them. Way cheap and more versitile. We never buy just leg quarters, though. DH won't eat them.

And we only buy pork or beef roasts or steaks when they are on sale. Since we don't eat them often, we just stock up when we can. I've started using beans a lot more for protein. They are cheaper and DS #2 won't eat much meat, but he loves loves loves beans.

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we buy 90% or above ground beef for all of our everday eating including burgers(just have to cook them careful so they don't dry out) i buy when its on sale and stock up so i can usually get the leaner meat for the same price as 80 or 85%.

chicken we usually buy boneless skinless chicken breast(they are pricey but we don't like the skin due to fat content so i suck it up and buy it this way mostly or in the frozen section in bags if there are non on sale) now on occasion i will do hindquarters to bbq on the grill we do like these that way. i do buy whole chickens and cook them down in my croc pot to use in casseroles and tacos they are very cheap this way.

we are not big steak eaters so we just buy when they are really on sale(we like sirloins or ribeyes the best) we do get minute steaks when they are a good deal we just marinate them so they are not tough as for roasts i buy when they are on sale as well usually towards the fall time we mainly eat those in the fall and winter months also for pork roasts i buy a few a year and put them in the croc pot and then shredd for pulled pork sandwiches.

that said if you are getting by for under 100 a week for everthing i think you are doing great even in the meat and chicken department!

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Alright this a good topic! I buy when hamburger is on a really good sale. We like to use ground turkey in place of it occassionally so if I find those on sale, we really stock up on them. They are much less fattening and to me they taste a whole lot better.

Chicken- when whole chickens are on sale, we will buy them and freeze them. We stock up. Then we will cook a whole chicken and use them for various dishes after they are all shredded up. Usually we just buy boneless skinless chicken breasts because I like them much better, they are less fattening and much easier to cook. I usually wait until we find them on a really good sale and then really stock up and freeze them and take them out for other uses later on. It works out great for us. I love boneless skinless chicken breasts and we hardly ever buy whole chickens that often.

I only buy roasts when they are on sale and make them on Sundays and such. I also get London Broil Steaks when they are on sale for $1.89/pound. Then we will have one now and thrown one in the freezer for later.

I won't spend more than $2 a pound on meats and chicken. I think that is way too expensive more than that. I really stock up when everything is on sale that way we don't pay full price.



*****When you work it out, I really save a lot of money buying this way. I stock up when there are good sales and it works out great for me. I have the freezer attached to the fridge (just your standard sized freezer) and a chest freezer. If things aren't on sale and they aren't good prices, we work off of what is in the freezer and cupboards. I usually only buy things when they are on sale, since I stock up so much. Trust me, it works out great that way. If you can splurge on a freezer it pays off for itself in the long run when you work it all out. (Thankfully I got mine off of freecycle for free! Yep, you read that right... free!!!!!!) It takes a little while to get yourself to the point where you can work off of what is in the house and only have to buy a few things each week, but before long you'll be there.

We buy a hind quarter of beef about every 9 to 11 months. Then we split a pig with some freinds/family. the beef comes to about 1.99 a pound and the pig is about 1.49 a pound. We get roasts, steaks, ground, stew meat, bacon, pork chops, ribs, etc.

So when I go shopping all I have to buy is the staples, vegs, fruit and dairy. NO MEAT

I buy chicken drumsticks, whole for beer butt, skinless/boneless, leg quarters, when they are on sale. This last week I bought three whole chicken for roasting on our camping trip for .69 a pound and leg quarters for .39 a pound.

My freezer is so full I can't get any more food in it.

I even give meat to my grown kids when they come over to visit. It saves them, so they can get other stuff they need.

See, this is exactly what I would like to do. My parents used to buy half a cow or whatever (maybe a quarter?) and have a TON of varieties of meat in their freezer for the whole year. Purchasing ground beef at the grocery store was foreign to me until I started living on my own. How did you go about finding a butcher? There are meat markets here, but I think they are probably more expensive than just going directly to the source and ordering part of a cow.

I use the same butcher my parents used many years ago. But I think if you don't have a butcher you know and like, the best is word of mouth. Check around with people and you might find one that they like. Most of our meat market around my home do sell beef by the whole, half or quarter, but they charge more then my butcher. Since I have been going to them all my life, they give me a great deal, so when we buy our hind quarter I get more business for the butcher too by some other people to go in to buy a hind quarter or spliting one with someone. The last time we bought our hind quarter I got/sold 6 hind quarters for the company/butcher one for my family and the other 5 to other families. It take some time to set it all up but the meat is great and fresh. Everyone that I have talked into buying or spliting a hind quareter has gone back.

I found a meat market, and I'm going to drive there on Saturday to see if it's clean and "normal" looking, mainly b/c I don't know of anyone that uses it (i.e. I don't know its reputation). They sell package deals like this one: Reviews, where you basically choose your various cuts, and they give you a discount. They also deliver it if you go over $200. It does seem a bit more expensive, mainly b/c I hardly ever buy steaks and roasts (although I can choose mostly, if not all, ground beef, which is obviously cheaper). But I like the idea of having good, fresh meat stashed in my freezer. I don't know of any butchers, but I will keep my eyes open. Thanks for all your tips!

I usually buy the 80 or 85% ground beef and only if it is on sale or I am making hamburgers. Otherwise, I use the ground turkey chubs you can get at Aldi's for 0.79/lb. Much leaner than beef. I also buy ground chicken when it goes on sale. If the lean (90%) beef is on a really good sale, I will buy some of that but even then, it usually is more expensive.

For chicken, I buy leg quarters to make chicken noodles. To make meals with though, I buy boneless chicken breast and only when it is on sale. I can get a 3 lb. back for $5.97 or cheaper when on sale.. which equals to $1.99/lb. I always have a stock of chicken breasts in my freezer since it is so versatile. For pork, I just get whatever is on sale... usually anything I buy is $1.99 or less per lb. unless it is a special occasion..

When I was growing up, my grandparents lived on a farm and would get a cow butchered every year, then we would have steaks, hamburger, etc. all year around, so we never bought meat from the grocery store.. I can't believe how expensive it can be, but if you watch for sales, you can save alot of money.